Reading Into the Future: The Hunger Games
by Ayaashi
Summary: A sun god slowly drifted off to sleep, unknowingly, bringing a forecast from the future, unto himself. Will the gods read the future and decide to change it by reading the Hunger Games? Previously known as "The Hunger Games Can Never Happen".
1. The Dream

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games**

* * *

_A sun god slowly drifted off to sleep, unknowingly, bringing a forecast from the future, unto himself._

* * *

A girl that looks completely unfamiliar, whimpering in pain, and curled up in a small ball in the Throne Room. Chants can be heard, and the blonde-haired watcher recognizes them as the chants for changing a mortal's life to godhood.

His brows furrowed, only one question in his head; Why?

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

Now an argument can be seen and partially heard. The same girl is thoroughly annoyed, and is arguing with some of the gods - Athena, Artemis, Apollo and Hermes. Catches of the conversation are heard now, and it is clear that for some reason, Zeus has decided to tear down the Mist, just like it had been when thousands of years ago; the other Olympians agree, the girl does not. Exactly what is going on?

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

The gods are divided, some having been convinced by Zeus, some by the girl. Two sides. Mass destruction; the world thrown into chaos. Buildings destroyed, mortals killed, gods severely injured, demigods torn between loyalty to their parents or judgement through their own thoughts.

The Mist is being torn; more and more mortals see the war just as the demigods and gods see it.

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

Silence.

A destroyed world.

The Mist gone.

Slowly, the gods have stopped this atrocious argument.

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

A country is formed. The only country now. Panem.

Districts and a Capitol are created. Each Olympian is placed with a district or the Capitol.

The Capitol with Zeus; District 1 with Hera; District 2 with Ares; District 3 with Athena; District 4 with Posiedon; District 5 with Apollo; District 6 with Hermes; District 7 with Hephaestus; District 8 with Aphrodite; District 9 with Dionysus; District 10 with Artemis; District 11 with Demeter; District 12 with Hestia and District 13 with Hades.

Each District knows about the Gods.

The girl has disappeared.

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

Peaceful years go on and on, the world starts to restore itself.

The Capitol receives what they need from the Districts, some Districts get poorer and poorer, some Districts get richer and richer.

As generations wear by, the Gods are forgotten. The Mist reforms.

The girl begins to talk with Hades.

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

District 13 starts the rebellion against the Capitol, the girl in lead.

A new war arises.

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

No matter what the Olympians think, as they've been forgotten, other districts join the rebellion. Some gods help them, some do nothing, some help the Capitol.

Fighting continues and continues, again, the world is starting destroy itself, again.

Blood, blood and blood falls in every district, and each District is bombed.

District 13 is a wasteland.

* * *

_Change scene_

* * *

The war is not going well for the rebels, but all districts have turned against the Capitol now.

A diplomatic reproach is taken by the Olympians after District 13 threatens a nuclear war. They will be left alone, if they do not start using their nuclear bombs. They will not have to do anything for the Capitol.

Finally, an agreement.

* * *

_Change __scene_

* * *

The blue-eyed boy frowns. This isn't good. This shouldn't happen.

The Hunger Games are announced as soon as the other Capitol regains control of Districts 1-12.

And that's when the boy knows, this event that has taken place a long, long, long time into the future, must never happen, because the rules of these Games...

* * *

_Apollo wakes up. _

_The other gods must know this._

_This. Can't. Ever. Happen._

* * *

**'ello.**

**I though, there needs to be some explanation for the first rebellion, even if it is short. As I still love Percy Jackson, I decided to combine them. Is it any good?**

**Also, I was thinking of turning this into a Reading the Hunger Games with the gods though... what do you think? (I may go ahead with it anyway, so this might just be the first chapter.)**

**~.Ayaashi.~**


	2. The Decision

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games. Or the idea of Pause and Play. That goes to Aariya.**

* * *

"...we need to read these books."

* * *

_Pause_

* * *

3 books appearing next to Apollo right after his dream. Could that be a coincidence? No, probably not.

Apollo didn't want this to happen. He _really _despised the idea of two wars... and at the end of the second one, the disastrous idea of the Hunger Games.

He had told the Olympians about the dream... but they didn't seem to believe him.

* * *

_Play_

* * *

"Why?" Athena asked, frowning, "What is the use of reading these books? They're only books."

"Athena turning down a book?" Ares raised an eyebrow, "Never thought I'd see the day."

Athena shot him a glare, before looking back at Apollo.

"Look, after the dream I had, these books appeared, with a note from me in the future! Is that a coincidence? I don't think so! I - future me - wants to stop this from happening! And if my dream was really going to happen, we need to change it! Do you really want what's going to happen to happen?" Apollo asked, now standing and yelling.

"Apollo," Zeus said calmly, "Sit."

"No father!" he exclaimed, "We _need _to know what's going to happen. I'm not being gullible either. When have my dreams been wrong?"

"Brother."

Apollo looked at his twin and calmed slightly. She looked deep in thought and turned to Athena.

"Athena, do you know exactly how many times Apollo has been correct?"

"Every time."

"And do you think it may be possible to change the future?" she asked.

Athena tilted her head to one side, thinking.

"It may be... the Fates may have decided they do not like the path they have spun... so they may be trying to change it," she mused, "Perhaps we _should _read these books after all..."

"Exactly!" Apollo said triumphantly, but no one payed attention to him at the moment.

"We will put it to vote," Zeus said, which caused Apollo to roll his eyes, and put his earphones in his ears; _why vote over something so blatantly obvious?_

"But," Hera intersected, and Apollo groaned slightly; Stupid, old cow...

"How do we know that these books are... real?"

"Because I'm holding them," Apollo suggested.

Hera shot him a nasty look, which just made him shrug.

"I mean, how do we know they're truthful. That they're not a joke pulled by Hermes?" she questioned.

"I didn't do anything!" Hermes frowned, "Don't blame me for something I don't do!"

"I doubt they're jokes, _step-mother_," Artemis said, coolly, "As Apollo said before, it can't be a coincidence that he got the books after the dream.

"It is possible though," Hera retorted.

"Do we really have to waster our time reading some stupid books?" Aphrodite whined, and some other gods looked like they agreed.

Hades, who had been sitting quietly, watching his family bicker, stood up.

"As Zeus said before, we should put it to vote," he said, "I - for one - believe Apollo."

At the sceptical looks coming his way, he added, "Apollo _is _the god of truth and the future, no? Then why not believe him?"

After a few minutes of an awkward silence that decided to prop up, Zeus cleared his throat and said, "Let us put the matter to vote. Who believes we should read these books?"

Only Hera, Dionysus and Ares abstained, but everyone else raised their hand.

"Very well. Starting tomorrow we shall read three chapters a day around her duties. A chapter after breakfast, another after lunch and one before dinner."

There was a few minutes silence before Apollo and Hermes looked at each other and asked at the same time (horrified), "Two chapters in between lunch and dinner? But we'll be hungry!"

* * *

**Yeah. I'm the kind of person that when I make up my mind, I ignore advice. *coughs sheepishly***

**Whoops. But yeah... I couldn't resist, even though this is pretty cliché.**

**~.Ayaashi.~**


	3. Reading the First Chapter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games.**

* * *

The Olympians - apart from Hermes - sat in the Throne Room, waiting for Hermes to finish delivering messages.

Hades and Hestia had been given thrones as well, to sit in while the books were being read; they did not question if the thrones would still be there afterwards, but for that moment, allowed a small smile to slip onto their faces - Hades' soon disappeared (he wasn't going to let anyone see him smile now, was he?), even though he was pleased that, for once, he was allowed to have a throne on Olympus.

By the time Hermes entered the room, everyone was getting impatient, and most of them, talking to each other, while others conversations started arguments.

No one but Zeus noticed Hermes entered and when he called for silence they didn't listen.

"Everybody! Quiet!" Zeus snapped, louder than before, and adding a bit of thunder (which brought on eye rolls from Hades and Posiedon).

The room slowly fell quiet.

"Very well, who would like to read first," he said, looking at the book in Apollo's hands.

Silence...

Which lead to an awkward silence.

"I'll read since I'm holding it," Apollo shrugged.

Artemis frowned and got up from her throne and crossed over to Apollo.

He looked at her, puzzled.

"Brother, are you feeling alright?" she asked, completely serious.

"Artemis!" Apollo snapped, "Not funny!"

"I'm not joking," she said, "Really, I haven't seen you read a book since you were about... nine."

Hermes snorted, "Why am I not surprised?"

"And I haven't seen _you _read a book since you were six," Artemis replied, coolly.

Apollo smirked at Hermes, before looking at Artemis and glaring.

"Well, you're never around because you're too busy with your _precious Hunters_ so you wouldn't know -"

"Artemis! Apollo!" Zeus grumbled, just in time, because Artemis looked ready to murder Apollo for talking about her Hunters in that tone, "Stop this ridiculous behaviour. Artemis, back to your throne."

Artemis shot Apollo a glare - Apollo glaring back - before walking back to her throne as calmly as possible - which, admittedly, wasn't very calm.

"Apollo, begi - "

"Wait, I need to go and... talk to Eris...?" Ares said, not very pleased about spending time reading a stupid book.

"Ares," Athena frowned, "You're not going anywhere. _No one _is until this chapter is done. We are going to read whether you like it or not."

Ares scowled at her.

"Shut up Owl Face," he snapped, "You're such a -"

Cue eye rolls.

"SILENCE!" Zeus thundered, finally getting extremely irritated, "That is enough. Apollo, begin reading."

Mumbling unintelligibly about stupid war gods, Apollo began.

"**PART I "THE TRIBUTES"**

Ares stopped polishing his knife for a second.

_Tributes? Hm... tributes usually equal death... interesting..._

Then he went back to polishing his knife.

**"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."**

"I already hate this book," Ares mumbled, but was ignored.

"**My**** fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth ****but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother."**

"Coward," he added, but, was again, ignored.

**"Of**** course, she did. This is the day of the reaping."**

"Reaping for what?" Athena frowned.

"Who cares?" Aphrodite shrugged, "We'll find out sweetie."

"Don't call me that."

"**I**** prop myself up on one elbow. There's enough light in the bedroom to see them. My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother's body, their cheeks pressed together."**

"Aw..." Aphrodite sighed, "That's so cute... I wished we could do that with our kids..."

Scowls were shot at Hera, as _everyone _knew it was her fault that Zeus had made the rule. She replied to their scowls with an indifferent look on her face.

**"In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down. Prim's face is as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named."**

Demeter, Hestia and Artemis smiled, thinking of the beautiful flower they had crossed so many times. Most of the other Olympians didn't really know which flower that was, so they couldn't really imagine the flower itself.

"**My**** mother was very beautiful once, too. Or so they tell me.**

******Sitting at Prim's knees, guarding her, is the world's ugliest cat."**

"He can't be that ugly, can he?" Artemis wondered; most animals were usually - _usually _- pretty or as Aphrodite liked to call it 'cute'. Especially cats.

**********Mashed-in nose, half of one ear missing, eyes the color of rotting squash. Prim named him ****Buttercup, insisting that his muddy yellow coat matched the bright flower."**

"...that's... pretty ugly," Artemis admitted.

"Not a pleasant description," Athena added.

"Why would they even keep something that looked like that?" Aphrodite said, making a face.

_Well Hephaestus is in the Council, isn't he? _Ares thought, knowing Aphrodite would hear him.

A small smirk crossed across her face.

**"****He hates me.**

**Or at least distrusts me. Even though it was years ago, I think he still remembers how I tried to drown him in a bucket when Prim brought him home."**

"Good idea," Hermes mumbled, not liking the sound of that cat; he'd never liked cats anyway... for some reason, they hated him.

"**Scrawny**** kitten, belly swollen with worms, crawling with fleas."**

Aphrodite shuddered.

"**The**** last thing I needed was another mouth to feed. But Prim begged so hard, cried even, I had to let him stay. It turned out okay. My mother got rid of the vermin and he's a born mouser. Even catches the occasional rat."**

"Well that's... good?"

"Not really. It's not much help if it catches the occasional rat. What's it supposed to do with it anyway?"

"Touché."

**"Sometimes, when I clean a kill, I feed Buttercup the entrails. He has stopped hissing at me."**

"The best way to a man - or animal's - heart, is through food," Aphrodite nodded, knowledgeably, "And good looks. And -"

Apollo hurried on; they did not need a list of _Aphrodite's _ways to get to a man's heart at the moment.

"**Entrails. No hissing. This is the closest we will ever come to love."**

"See?"

"Aphrodite, be quiet."

"Sorry sweetie..."

"Aphrodite!" Athena sighed in exasperation.

**"I**** swing my legs off the bed and slide into my hunting boots."**

Artemis perked up.

"A Hunter?" she asked.

"Artemis, this is 2000 years into the future. Plus, she's in Hestia's district."

Hestia smiled widely, but then frowned. This person, who ever it was, before had said that she (it just seemed like a girl) had enough mouths to feed... did that mean there wasn't enough food in her district?

**"****Supple leather that has molded to my feet. I pull on trousers, a shirt, tuck my long dark braid up into a cap, and grab my forage bag. On the table, under a wooden bowl to protect it from hungry rats and cats alike, sits a perfect little goat cheese wrapped in basil leaves. ********Prim's gift to me on reaping day."**  


"They don't have enough money for goat's cheese?" Apollo frowned, "Weird."

"It doesn't say that," Demeter said, patiently.

"Yeah, but gifts are usually helpful or expensive or something. This isn't expensive - to us - but it's not exactly helpful either, apart from the fact it's food. Therefore, it must be expensive to them."

"Point taken," Demeter nodded.

Hestia's brows furrowed.

She didn't like the sound of this... well, really, she didn't like the sound of any of the things Apollo had said before - it was too much war and loss for her liking.

**"I put the cheese carefully in my pocket as I slip outside.**

**Our part of District 12, nicknamed the Seam -"**

"I wonder why," Athena said, thoughtfully, "A seam is a -"

"Athena. Not the time," Posiedon sighed, massaging his temples. Gods his family was useless at being quiet.

**"- is usually crawling with coal miners heading out to the morning shift at this hour. Men and women with hunched shoulders, swollen knuckles, many who have long since stopped trying to scrub the coal dust out of their broken nails, the lines of their sunken faces."**

Aphrodite frowned.

"Disgusting... they could so do with a -"

"Aphrodite just be quiet!" Artemis snapped, "Or I swear, I will personally sew your lips together."

Hestia sighed, trying to block out Aphrodite and Athena's bickering, and wondering why the people in her District had to work so hard.

**"But**** today the black cinder streets are empty. Shutters on the squat gray houses are closed. The reaping isn't until two. May as well sleep in. If you can.**

**Our house is almost at the edge of the Seam. I only have to pass a few gates to reach the scruffy field called the Meadow.**

**Separating the Meadow from the woods, in fact enclosing all of District 12, is a high chain-link fence topped with barbed wire loops."**

Hermes whistled, "Sounds dangerous. Technically, you could get around it if you dug a hole, but that would be pretty obvious. You couldn't climb over it... but if there was a gap that someone could fit through you could easily go through it."

"Why would you want to do that?" Aphrodite frowned.

"Because... I don't know."

**"In**** theory, it's supposed to be electrified twenty-four hours -"**

"That just makes things harder for them..." Hermes muttered.

**" - ****a**** day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods — ****packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears — that used to threaten our streets. But since we're lucky to get two or three hours of electricity in the evenings, it's usually safe to touch."**

"Oh, never mind," Hermes shrugged.

**"Even so, I always take a moment to listen carefully for the hum that means the fence is live. Right now, it's silent as a stone. Concealed by a clump of bushes, I flatten out on my belly and slide under a two-foot stretch that's been loose for years."**

"Ha," Hermes said, triumphantly, "Smart one that is."

"No... it's just blatantly obvious to everyone," Artemis sighed.

**"There**** are several other weak spots in the fence, but this one is so close to home I almost always enter the woods here.**

**As soon as I'm in the trees, I retrieve a bow and sheath of arrows from a hollow log."**

Artemis smiled. Maybe a new Hunter...

**Electrified**** or not, the fence has been successful at keeping the flesh-eaters out of District 12.**

"What are they supposed to do?" Hades muttered, "Climb over it or melt through it?"

**"****Inside the woods they roam freely, and there are added concerns like venomous snakes, rabid animals, and no real paths to follow. ****But there's also food if you know how to find it. My father knew and he taught me some before he was blown to bits in a mine explosion."**

Aphrodite, Demeter and Hestia frowned.

_Poor girl... having to live without her father..._ was the base of the thoughts in their head at that moment.

**"There was nothing even to bury. I was eleven then. Five years later, I still wake up screaming for him to run."**

A few more people frowned.

"**Even though trespassing in the woods is illegal and poaching carries the severest of penalties, more people would risk it if they had weapons. ****But most are not bold enough to venture out with just a knife. My bow is a rarity, crafted by my father along with a few others that I keep well hidden in the woods, carefully wrapped in waterproof covers. My father could have made good money selling them, but if the officials found out he would have been publicly executed for inciting a rebellion."**

A few heads turned and glared at Zeus, remembering that _he _was in charge of the Capitol, therefore the officials, but he ignored them all.

**"Most of the Peacekeepers turn a blind eye to the few of us who hunt because they're as hungry ****for fresh meat as anybody is. In fact, they're among our best customers."**

Hermes snorted.

"That's a fail," Hermes stated.

"**But the idea that someone might be arming the Seam would never have been allowed.**

**In the fall, a few brave souls sneak into the woods to harvest apples, butut always in sight of the Meadow. Always close enough to run back to the safety of District 12 if trouble arises. "District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety," I mutter."**

A few people shifted uncomfortably at the thought of how much food they always had.

"You wouldn't survive a day there Apollo. Neither would you Hermes."

"We know, Artemis," the said together.

"At least they're starving in safety," Hermes added, trying to lighten the statement.

"Oh yes, that's such a majorly happy point," Posiedon grumbled.

"**Then I glance quickly over my shoulder. Even here, even in the middle of nowhere, you worry someone might overhear you.**

******When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol.**"

"Whatever she said is probably right," Apollo muttered to Hermes; he was starting to feel loathing towards Zeus, as he thought - no _knew _- it was his fault.

Hermes shrugged.

**"****Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. Do my work quietly in school. Make only polite small talk in the public market. Discuss little more than trades in the Hob, which is the black market where I make most of my money."**

Hermes chuckled.

"Nice."

**"Even******** at home, where I am less pleasant, I avoid discussing tricky topics. Like the reaping, or food shortages, or the Hunger Games. Prim might begin to repeat my words and then where would we be?**

**********In the woods waits the only person with whom I can be myself. Gale."**

Aphrodite grinned.

"Possible love interest?" she smiled, "This is going to be so fun!"

The other Olympians grimaced - this was going to be annoying.

**"I can feel the muscles in my face relaxing, my pace quickening as I climb the hills to our place, a rock ledge overlooking a valley. A thicket of berry bushes protects it from unwanted eyes. The sight of him waiting there brings on a smile."**

Aphrodite smile widened, but she didn't comment.

**"Gale says I never smile except in the woods."**

"She sounds like Artemis," Hermes mused.

"True that," Apollo nodded.

Artemis scowled at the two.

**""Hey, Catnip," says Gale."**

"What kind of a name is Catnip?" Ares commented, "Pretty stupid name."

"What kind of name is Ares?" Artemis asked.

"What kind of name is Artemis?" Apollo retorted.

"Or Apollo."

"Or Hermes."

"Or Dionysus."

"Or Aphrodite."

"Or -"

"Why don't we all say that our names are ridiculous and stop arguing," Hera snapped, finally getting sick of the conversation.

"..."

**"My real name is Katniss -"**

"That's not much better," Apollo smirked, before continuing to read after the glare Hera sent him.

**"But ****when I first told him, I had barely whispered it. So he thought I'd said Catnip."**

"...I still say that's a stupid name."

"You're stupid Ares, now be quiet," Athena sighed.

******"Then when this crazy lynx started following me around the woods looking for handouts, it became his official nickname for me."**

Hermes snickered.

"That doesn't help her case."

******"I finally had to kill the lynx because he scared off** **game."**

"Poor lynx," Demeter frowned.

"The pelt would be nice though," Artemis mused.

**"I almost regretted it because he wasn't bad company. But I got a decent price for his pelt."**

"That's practical," Aphrodite frowned - she preferred sentimental people.

**""Look what I shot," Gale holds up a loaf of bread with an arrow stuck in it, and I laugh."**

"What's so funny?" Ares raised an eyebrow, "He stuck an arrow in a loaf of bread. Ha ha ha."

**"It's real bakery bread, not the flat, dense loaves we make from our grain rations."**

"That sounds... pleasant."

**"I take it in my hands, pull out the arrow, and hold the puncture in the crust to my nose, inhaling the fragrance that makes my mouth flood with saliva."**

"Another pleasant image."

"Aphrodite -" Athena started.

"Sorry swe - sorry."

**"Fine bread like this is for special occasions."**

"It is?" Hermes asked, puzzled, "Don't we eat it... all the time?"

"For them it'd be special," Artemis said, her expression dark, "They wouldn't be able to afford it."

Hestia wasn't happy about the conditions in her District.

**"****"Mm, still warm," I say. He must have been at the bakery at the crack of dawn to trade for it. "What did it cost you?"**

**"Just a squirrel. Think the old man was feeling sentimental this morning," says Gale. "Even wished me luck."**

"For?" Aphrodite wondered out loud.

"Probably the reaping..." Athena replied, thoughtfully.

**"****"Well, we all feel a little closer today, don't we?" I say, not even bothering to roll my eyes. "Prim left us a cheese." I pull it out.**

**His expression brightens at the treat. "Thank you, Prim. We'll have a real feast.""**

******Suddenly he falls into a Capitol accent as he mimics Effie Trinket, ****the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives once a year to read out the names at the reaping. "I almost forgot! Happy Hunger Games!" He plucks a few blackberries from the bushes around us. "And may the odds —" He tosses a berry in a high arc toward me.**

**I catch it in my mouth and break the delicate skin with my teeth. The sweet tartness explodes across my tongue. "— be **_**ever **_**in your favor!" I finish with equal verve.**

"What's that about?" Posiedon raised an eyebrow, thinking.

**"****We have to joke about it because the alternative is to be scared out of your wits. Besides, the Capitol accent is so affected, almost anything sounds funny in it."**

"I wonder what it sounds like... maybe a British accent?"

"British accents are great!" Aphrodite argued, "Maybe it's the Australian one."

"Australia's got a great accent," Posiedon frowned, "It could be -"

"One we don't even know about it," Athena said, "So if we could please carry on reading."

She glared at Apollo for starting the conversation.

**"****I watch as Gale pulls out his knife and slices the bread. He could be my brother."**

Aphrodite frowned at the thought.

"But that would ruin everything!" she muttered to herself.

**"****Straight black hair, olive skin, we even have the same grey eyes. But we're not related, at least not closely. Most of the families who work the mines resemble one another this way."**

Aphrodite sighed in relief.

"Hm... they look like you," she then said, looking at Athena with a critical eye.

Everyone's heads - _of __course _- turned to her.

**"That's why my mother and Prim, with their light hair and blue eyes, always look out of place. They are. My mother's parents were part of the small merchant class that caters to officials, Peacekeepers, and the occasional Seam customer.**

"What _are _the Peacekeepers?" Hermes frowned, "They're not telling us."

"They're _peace_ _keepers_," Athena explained. When Hermes just looked confused.

"They. Keep. PEACE."

"I understood that... but she says it like they're something awful or something," Hermes explained _his _point of view.

"I don't know," Athena shrugged.

"Alert the press! Athena doesn't know something!" Apollo gasped.

"That's enough," Artemis said.

**"They ran an apothecary shop in the nicer part of District 12.**

**Since almost no one can afford doctors, apothecaries are our healers. My father got to know my mother because on his hunts he would sometimes collect medicinal herbs and sell them to her shop to be brewed into remedies. She must have really loved him to leave her home for the Seam."**

"See?" Aphrodite pointed out, "Love is really powerful."

No one bothered replying to her.

**"I try to remember that, when all I can see is the woman who sat by, blank and unreachable, while her children turned to skin and bones."**

Frowns spread across the room again.

"Sounds like depression," Apollo said, his brows furrowing.

**"I try to forgive her for my father's sake. But to be honest, I'm not the forgiving type."**

"That sounds like Athena again," Aphrodite smirked.

Athena glared back.

**"****Gale spreads the bread slices with the soft goat cheese, carefully placing a basil leaf on each while I strip the bushes of their berries. We settle back in a nook in the rocks. From this place, we are invisible but have a clear view of the valley, which is teeming with summer life, greens to gather, roots to dig, fish iridescent in the sunlight. The day is glorious, with a blue sky and soft breeze. The food's wonderful, with the cheese seeping into the warm bread and the berries bursting in our mouths. Everything would be perfect if this really was a holiday, if all the day off meant I was roaming the mountains with Gale, hunting for tonight's supper. But instead we have to be standing in the square at two o'clock waiting for the names to be called out."**

"And we're still left out of the plot."

"Apollo, just read."

"Sure sis."

"Don't call me sis!"

**""We could do it, you know," Gale says quietly.**

**"What?" I ask.**

**"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it," says Gale.**

"I think he's trying to give you a hint dear!" Aphrodite exclaimed, extremely giddy.

**"I don't know how to respond. The idea is so preposterous.**

**"If we didn't have so many kids," he adds quickly."**

"They have kids?" Artemis blinked, "How old are they?"

Aphrodite was getting giddier by the second, and Hermes and Ares were snickering.

Apollo carried on so Aphrodite would calm down.

**"They're not our kids, of course. But they might as well be."**

Aphrodite frowned, "Never mind..."

The goddess of hunt was too relieved a possible Hunter did _not _have children, therefore didn't reply to Aphrodite's expression.

**"Gale's two little brothers and a sister. Prim. And you may as well throw in our mothers, too, because how would they live without us? Who would fill those mouths that are always asking for more? With both of us hunting daily, there are still nights when game has to be swapped for lard or shoelaces or wool, still nights when we go to bed with our stomachs growling."**

Another room full of frowns. This was making quite a bit of them a bit too uncomfortable for their liking.

**"I never want to have kids," I say.**

**"I might. If I didn't live here," says Gale.**

**"But you do," I say, irritated.**

**"Forget it," he snaps back."**

"I think someone's giving you some hi-ints," Aphrodite smirked.

**"****The conversation feels all wrong. Leave? How could I leave Prim, who is the only person in the world I'm certain I love?"**

"Er..."

"Not in that way Aphrodite!" Artemis growled, getting annoyed with her constant comments on love.

**"****And Gale is devoted to his family. We can't leave, so why bother talking about it? And even if we did . . . even if we did . . . where did this stuff about having kids come from? There's never been anything romantic between Gale and me."**

"Not yet but there will be..." a certain love goddess murmured, "I promise you that."

**"When we met, I was a skinny twelve-year-old, and although he was only two years older, he already looked like a man. It took a long time for us to even become friends, to stop haggling over every trade and begin helping each other out."**

"That's just like Athena if she found a... friend; she'd always be arguing with them," Aphrodite said, looking at the said goddess pointedly.

She was ignored.

**"Besides, if he wants kids, Gale won't have any trouble finding a wife."**

"She likes him too! Yes!" Aphrodite cheered.

"No where does it say that."

"Details," Aphrodite tutted.

**"****He's good-looking, he's strong enough to handle the work in the mines, and he can hunt. You can tell by the way the girls whisper about him when he walks by in school that they want him. It makes me jealous but not for the reason people would think. Good hunting partners are hard to find."**

"That's definitely the only reason," Apollo nodded, exchanging smirks with Hermes.

Artemis gave him a look saying, 'traitor'.

**""What do you want to do?" I ask. We can hunt, fish, or gather."**

Posiedon smiled at the word 'fish, and Artemis at 'hunt'.

**""Let's fish at the lake. We can leave our poles and gather in the woods. Get something nice for tonight," he says.**

**Tonight. After the reaping, everyone is supposed to celebrate. And a lot of people do, out of relief that their children have been spared for another year."**

Athena looked startled.

"But... but that seems as if the children are going to be killed," she murmured.

The same thing was on everyone else's mind.

**"But at least two families will pull their shutters, lock their doors, and try to figure out how they will survive the painful weeks to come. We make out well."**

Aphrodite couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

The predators ignore us on a day when easier, tastier prey abounds.

"How do they know they're less tastier than other prey?" Hermes smirked.

"Why don't we experiment by chucking you to some of my dear wolves?" Artemis replied, frowning.

"No thanks... but how about Apollo?"

"That'd be nice."

"Or Aphrodite," Apollo said, knowing what Artemis would say next. He was right.

"Wouldn't that be wonderful...?"

"I'm right here, you know," the love goddess grumbled.

**"By late morning, we have a dozen fish, a bag of greens and, best of all, a gallon of strawberries. I found the patch a few years ago, but Gale had the idea to string mesh nets around it to keep out the animals."**

"Smart," Hephaestus acknowledged, quietly.

**"On the way home, we swing by the Hob, the black market -"**

Hermes and Ares grinned.

"Black market?" Hermes asked, "That's my type of place."

"Of course it is," Hera sighed, tragically.

_Drama Queen,_ most of her step-children and children thought.

**" -that operates in an abandoned warehouse that once held coal. When they came up with a more efficient ****system that transported the coal directly from the mines to the trains, the Hob gradually took over the space. **

**Most businesses are closed by this time on reaping day, but the black market's still fairly busy."**

"Of course," Hermes shrugged, "It's a black market."

**"We**** easily trade six of the fish for good bread, the other two for salt. Greasy Sae, the bony old woman who sells bowls of hot soup from a large kettle, takes half the greens off our hands in exchange for a couple of chunks of paraffin. We might do a tad better elsewhere, but we make an effort to keep on good terms with Greasy Sae. She's the only one who can consistently be counted on to buy wild dog."**

"Yuck," Aphrodite said, distastefully, "Wild dog."

**"We don't hunt them on purpose, but if you're attacked and you take out a dog or two, well, meat is meat. "Once it's in the soup, I'll call it beef," Greasy Sae says with a wink."**

"Delicious..."

"How wouldn't they be able to tell the difference?"

"Because not all of them are like you sweetie."

"Aphrodite!"

**"No one in the Seam would turn up their nose at a good leg of wild dog, but the Peacekeepers who come to the Hob can afford to be a little choosier. When we finish our business at the market, we go to the back door of the mayor's house to sell half the strawberries, knowing he has a particular ****fondness for them and can afford our price. ****The mayor's daughter, Madge, opens the door.**

**She's in my year at school. Being the mayor's daughter, you'd expect her to be a snob, but she's all right. She just keeps to herself. Like me. Since neither of us really has a group of friends, we seem to end up together a lot at school. Eating lunch, sitting next to each other at assemblies, partnering for sports activities. We rarely talk, which suits us both just fine. Today her drab school outfit has been replaced by an expensive white dress, and her blonde hair is done up with a pink ribbon. Reaping clothes."**

"Does it have any more of a description?" Aphrodite asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No," Apollo replied, "Why?"

"Just trying to imagine what she looks like."

**""Pretty dress," says Gale."**

"Love triangle?"

"No. Now shut up."

**"Madge shoots him a look, trying to see if it's a genuine compliment or if he's just being ironic."**

"...I don't get that," Apollo said, rereading the sentence repeatedly.

"Of course you don't," Posiedon mumbled.

**"It is a pretty dress, but she would never be wearing it ordinarily. She presses her lips together and then smiles. "Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?""**

"Not just then. You should always look nice," Aphrodite corrected.

"Blah, blah, blah," Artemis said, under her breath.

**"Now it's Gale's turn to be confused. Does she mean it? Or is she messing with him? I'm guessing the second. **

**"You won't be going to the Capitol," says Gale coolly. His eyes land on a small, circular pin that adorns her dress. Real gold. Beautifully crafted. It could keep a family in bread for months. **

**"What can you have? Five entries? I had six when I was just twelve years old." **

**"That's not her fault," I say."**

"Another un-understandable thing," Hades grumbled.

**""No, it's no one's fault. Just the way it is," says Gale. Madge's face has become closed off. She puts the money for the berries in my hand. **

**"Good luck, Katniss." **

**"You, too," I say, and the door closes.**

**We walk toward the Seam in silence. I don't like that Gale took a dig at Madge, but he's right, of course. The reaping system is unfair, with the poor getting the worst of it."**

"The poor get the worst of everything," Hestia murmured, sadly.

**"You**** become eligible for the reaping the day you turn twelve. That year, your name is entered once. At thirteen, twice. And so on and so on until you reach the age of eighteen, the final year of eligibility, when your name goes into the pool seven times. That's true for every citizen in all twelve districts in the entire country of Panem."**

More glared directed at Zeus, him being in charge of the Capitol.

He glared back, getting annoyed at the repetitive glares.

**But here's the catch. Say you are poor and starving as we were. You can opt to add your name more times in exchange for tesserae. Each tessera is worth a meager year's supply of grain and oil for one person. You may do this for each of your family members as well. So, at the age of twelve, I had my name entered four times. Once, because I had to, and three times for tesserae for grain and oil for myself, Prim, and my mother. In fact, every year I have needed to do this. And the entries are cumulative. So now, at the age of sixteen, my name will be in the reaping twenty times. Gale, who is eighteen and has been either helping or single-handedly feeding a family of five for seven years, will have his name in forty-two times."**

"Hades," Aphrodite cursed.

**"You can see why someone like Madge, who has never been at risk of needing a tessera, can set him off. The chance of her name being drawn is very slim compared to those of us who live in the Seam. Not impossible, but slim. And even though the rules were set up by the Capitol, not the districts, certainly not Madge's family, it's hard not to resent those who don't have to sign up for tesserae."**

"Do you think demigods may think that about mortals? That they're lucky to have a normal life?" Hestia wondered.

No answer.

**"Gale knows his anger at Madge is misdirected. On other days, deep in the woods, I've listened to him rant about how the tesserae are just another tool to cause misery in our district. A way to plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure we will never trust one another.**

**"It's to the Capitol's advantage to have us divided among ourselves," he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine. If it wasn't reaping day. If a girl with a gold pin and no tesserae had not made what I'm sure she thought was a harmless comment. As we walk, I glance over at Gale's face, still smouldering underneath his stony expression. His rages seem pointless to me, although I never say so. It's not that I don't agree with him. I do. But what good is yelling about the Capitol in the middle of the woods?"**

"It's better than having to

** It doesn't change anything. It doesn't make things fair. It doesn't fill our stomachs. In fact, it scares off the nearby game. I let him yell though. Better he does it in the woods than in the district."**

"Practical," Athena said, agreeing with Aphrodite's previous statement.

**"Gale and I divide our spoils, leaving two fish, a couple of loaves of good bread, greens, a quart of strawberries, salt, paraffin, and a bit of money for each.**

**"See you in the square," I say.**

**"Wear something pretty," he says flatly.**

**At home, I find my mother and sister are ready to go. My mother wears a fine dress from her apothecary days. Prim is in my first reaping outfit, a skirt and ruffled blouse. It's a bit big on her, but my mother has made it stay with pins. Even so, she's having trouble keeping the blouse tucked in at the back.**

**A tub of warm water waits for me. I scrub off the dirt and sweat from the woods and even wash my hair. To my surprise, my mother has laid out one of her own lovely dresses for me.**

**A soft blue thing with matching shoes."**

"Thing?" Aphrodite raised an eyebrow.

"Can we just carry on?"

**""Are you sure?" I ask. I'm trying to get past rejecting offers of help from her. For a while, I was so angry, I wouldn't allow her to do anything for me. And this is something special. Her clothes from her past are very precious to her.**

"That's nice of her," Hera smiled.

**"Of course. Let's put your hair up, too," she says. I let her towel-dry it and braid it up on my head. I can hardly recognize myself in the cracked mirror that leans against the wall."**

**"You look beautiful," says Prim in a hushed voice.**

**"And nothing like myself," I say. I hug her, because I know these next few hours will be terrible for her. Her first reaping.**

**She's about as safe as you can get, since she's only entered once. I wouldn't let her take out any tesserae. But she's worried about me. That the unthinkable might happen.**

**I protect Prim in every way I can, but I'm powerless against the reaping. The anguish I always feel when she's in pain wells up in my chest and threatens to register on my face."**

"Protective too..." Aphrodite said as she glanced at Athena.

**"****I notice her blouse has pulled out of her skirt in the back again and force myself to stay calm.**

**"Tuck your tail in, little duck," I say, smoothing the blouse back in place.**

**Prim giggles and gives me a small "Quack.""**

Some chuckles spread around the room.

**""Quack yourself," I say with a light laugh. The kind only Prim can draw out of me. "Come on, let's eat," I say and plant a quick kiss on the top of her head.**

**The fish and greens are already cooking in a stew, but that will be for supper. We decide to save the strawberries and bakery bread for this evening's meal, to make it special we say."**

"I don't think they'll be able to eat it," Hermes frowned.

**"****Instead we drink milk from Prim's goat, Lady, and eat the rough bread made from the tessera grain, although no one has much appetite anyway.**

**At one o'clock, we head for the square. Attendance is mandatory unless you are on death's door. This evening, officials will come around and check to see if this is the case. If not, you'll be imprisoned."**

"Harsh."

**"It's too bad, really, that they hold the reaping in the square — one of the few places in District 12 that can be pleasant.**

**The square's surrounded by shops, and on public market days, especially if there's good weather, it has a holiday feel to it.**

**But today, despite the bright banners hanging on the buildings, there's an air of grimness. The camera crews, perched like buzzards on rooftops, only add to the effect.**

**People file in silently and sign in. The reaping is a good opportunity for the Capitol to keep tabs on the population as well. Twelve- through eighteen-year-olds are herded into roped areas marked off by ages, the oldest in the front, the young ones, like Prim, toward the back. Family members line up around the perimeter, holding tightly to one another's hands. But there are others, too, who have no one they love at stake, or who no longer care, who slip among the crowd, taking bets on the two kids whose names will be drawn."**

"Well isn't that nice," Demeter said, gloomily, "But it's sad as well. That some people no longer have anyone at stake... no one they love..."

**"****Odds are given on their ages, whether they're Seam or merchant, if they will break down and weep. Most refuse dealing with the racketeers but carefully, carefully. These same people tend to ****be informers, and who hasn't broken the law? I could be shot on a daily basis for hunting, but the appetites of those in charge protect me. Not everyone can claim the same.**

**Anyway, Gale and I agree that if we have to choose between dying of hunger and a bullet in the head, the bullet would be much quicker."**

"At sixteen, she shouldn't have to have those thoughts."

A scowl flitted across many faces, as Athena said those words, and, once again, glares were directed at Zeus.

_This is going to be a tiring book to read... _he thought.

**"****The space gets tighter, more claustrophobic as people arrive.**

**The square's quite large, but not enough to hold District 12's population of about eight thousand. Latecomers are directed to the adjacent streets, where they can watch the event on screens as it's televised live by the state.**

**I find myself standing in a clump of sixteens from the Seam.**

**We all exchange terse nods then focus our attention on the temporary stage that is set up before the Justice Building. It holds three chairs, a podium, and two large glass balls, one for the boys and one for the girls. I stare at the paper slips in the girls' ball. Twenty of them have Katniss Everdeen written on them in careful handwriting.**

**Two of the three chairs fill with Madge's father, Mayor Undersee, who's a tall, balding man, and Effie Trinket, District 12's escort, fresh from the Capitol with her scary white grin, pinkish hair, and spring green suit."**

Aphrodite looked disgusted.

"Horrible fashion sense," she could be heard murmuring, "Needs to change..."

**"They murmur to each other and then look with concern at the empty seat."**

"I wonder who's there," Hermes wondered.

**"Just as the town clock strikes two, the mayor steps up to the podium and begins to read. It's the same story every year."**

"B-o-r-i-n-g," Apollo and Hermes chorused.

"Shut up and read."

"**He tells of the history of Panem, -"**

Now no god or goddess is complaining; they all want to know rough details, apart from what Apollo told them, about what had happened.

**" -**** the**** country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America."**

Cringes.

"I wonder if this area was destroyed."

Hestia looked around the throne room, sadly. It was horrifying to think that her family could be torn apart like that.

**"He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms -"**

There were glares at Zeus -

**" - the fires -"**

and glares at Hephaestus and Apollo, as well as -

**" - the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land - "**

glares at the god of the sea and -

**" - the ****brutal war for what little sustenance remained."**

- after that, Ares.

**"The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated."**

Hades grumbled darkly, and the other gods cringed.

**"The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games."**

******The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins."**

Apollo put the book down for a second.

"I wonder who's idea it was," he said.

"It would be... interesting what would happen if it was a fellow god or goddess's idea," Artemis added, looking coldly around the room.

No one looked happy; the air was full of tension, anger, frustration and so forth. Even Ares didn't look so pleased about war, as he didn't want anyone from his District, from the place he controlled, getting hurt; they were, after all, under his protection.

"Imagine if it was our children, or Hunters, or anyone who looked up to us who had to be apart of that," Hephaestus said, quietly.

"And we just sat by and watched the whole time..." Athena said, her eyes cold and stormier than usual, showing her anger, even though her expression was calm.

A few more minutes of silence, and Apollo picked up the book to read again.

**********"Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch — this is the Capitol's way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion."**

"You're in charge of the Capitol, are you not, _Brother_?" Posiedon questioned, "If you had nothing to do with it... why did you not disagree with the mortal's decision."

His brother had no answer, simply looking at Apollo to continue reading.

**"Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. **

**"Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there's nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.""**

Hades let out a low growl, looking at Zeus, not happy _at all._

**"To make it humiliating as well as torturous, the Capitol requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a sporting event pitting every district against the others. The last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, ****and their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting of food. All year, the Capitol will show the winning district gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation.**

**"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," intones the mayor.**

**Then he reads the list of past District 12 victors. In seventy-four years, we have had exactly two. Only one is still alive."**

"Only two," Hestia sighed, "At least there have been two..."

**"****Haymitch Abernathy, a paunchy, middle-aged man, who at this moment appears hollering something unintelligible, staggers onto the stage, and falls into the third chair."**

"Drunk," Dionysus mused, "Lucky fellow."

Zeus shot him a glare that said, 'Don't even think about it.'

**"He's drunk. Very."**

"No duh," Hermes said, "Don't repeat what Dionysus said Apollo."

**"The crowd responds with its token applause, but he's confused and tries to give Effie Trinket a big hug, which she barely manages to fend off."**

A few snickers were heard, but only from Ares, Hermes and Apollo.

**"The mayor looks distressed. Since all of this is being televised, right now District 12 is the laughingstock of Panem, and he knows it. He quickly tries to pull the attention back to the reaping by introducing Effie Trinket."**

Hestia sighed, once again.

She hated this. Her district a laughing stock...

Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter and Hera looked at her sympathetically.

Apollo quickly read again.

"**Bright and bubbly as ever, Effie Trinket trots to the podium and gives her signature, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be **_**ever **_**in your favor!" **

**Her pink hair must be a wig because her curls have shifted slightly off-center since her encounter with Haymitch. She goes on a bit about what an honor it is to be here, although everyone knows she's just aching to get bumped up ****to a better district where they have proper victors, not drunks who molest you in front of the entire nation."**

"Poor woman," Apollo said, sarcastically.

**"Through the crowd, I spot Gale looking back at me with a ghost of a smile. As reapings go, this one at least has a slight entertainment factor. But suddenly I am thinking of Gale and his forty-two names in that big glass ball and how the odds are not in his favor. Not compared to a lot of the boys. And maybe he's thinking the same thing about me because his face darkens and he turns away.**

**"But there are still thousands of slips," I wish I could whisper to him."**

Aphrodite's grin reappeared and she smirked.

**"It's time for the drawing. Effie Trinket says as she always does, "Ladies first!" and crosses to the glass ball with the girls' names. She reaches in, digs her hand deep into the ball, and pulls out a slip of paper. The crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop, and I'm feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it's not me, that it's not me, that it's not me."**

Against their will, the Gods waited, eagerly for the name to be called.

**"Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium, smoothes the slip of paper, and reads out the name in a clear voice. And it's not me."**

"That's lucky," Athena said, relieved.

"Apollo?" Artemis said, as she looked at his glum expression, "What is it?"

"**It's Primrose Everdeen." **

"Crap," Hermes swore.

"Language," Hera said, half-heartedly, but while thinking, _Poor child..._

"I doubt she's going to let it happen," Posiedon said.

Everyone looked at him.

Before Posiedon could say anything, Hades intersected.

"He means that Katniss is going to do anything to make sure that her sister doesn't go into the Games," he explained.

Everyone waited for Apollo to continue.

"Chapter's over," he said, then flipped the page.

"Who wants to read next?" Athena asked.

"I'm still reading!" Apollo grumbled.

Athena shot him a glare while saying, "No. We're all going to read."

"But -"

"Apollo. We. Are. All. Going. To. Read," she said.

"I want to read!" Aphrodite exclaimed.

Everyone looked at her with varied expressions on their faces, ranging from _'Wow, you can read?' _to _'Should we get Apollo to check her temperature?'_

"We are not reading yet," Zeus said, standing up.

The other gods didn't look at him, but just glared at the ground.

No one was happy with him, and he inwardly sighed.

_And this is just the first chapter..._

"We shall read another chapter _after lunch. _Until then, do your duties," he commanded.

Apollo put a bookmark where the next chapter started - but not after folding the page which made him receive a glare from Athena - and put it down on his throne.

One by one, the gods started to disperse.

Just before Apollo left, he mused in his head, _At this rate, by the end of the book, we're going to end up killing dad.__  
_

* * *

**So... good? Not good?**

**Did I do justice to the gods?**

**Do you want me to add any other characters?**

**Anything you want me to do/work on?**

**Review?**

**~.Ayaashi.~**

**P.S. Also, note, I am going to change the name of this story to Reading Into the Future: The Hunger Games.**


	4. Important AN

**I'm sorry guys. I have to leave Fanfiction for certain reasons. I'm really sorry.**

**I didn't want you to stay there, waiting for another chapter to come and getting annoyed - well considering I haven't updated in forever for most of my stories (yes, I'm posting the same thing in all my stories), it doesn't really matter for some.**

**For the readers of stories I only started recently, I'm sorry about leaving them already.**

**For everyone, I hope you've enjoyed the stories I've put up. I'm not deleting them, but I'm just going to leave them there, so if you ever want a laugh for some of my stories, or to read some of my stories again, go ahead.**

**If you want to carry on and make your own ending, go ahead and do so! Just don't forget to put where the start of it was as well as - possibly - a link.**

**I may or may not come back guys. If I do... that's good, right?**

**~.Ayaashi.~**


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